New Horizons
by Lo-FitzKid
Summary: This story revolves around the lives of several of Harmony's young poopulation Theresa, Kay, Simone, Miguel, Whitney, etc. as new horizons dawn in their personal lives, when they least expect it. Several months after the drama in L.A., what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**_The story begins sometime after the L.A. drama. Ethan and Theresa got married and had little Ethan, but eventually split. Ethan heads up his own practice on the other side of town.Chad and Whitney were engaged, and found out they were expecting a child, but the revelation of Chad's secret marriage to Latoya and that he was the product of Alistair Crane and Liz Sanbourne led to her losing her child and the end of their relationship. _**

**_Charity and Miguel were together and happy, but the revelation of Kay's pregnancy caused a deep rift between the two. They eventually reconciled, but Charity wasn't ready to commit fully to a life with Miguel and left town to attend the Fashion Institute in New York. Kay eventually gave birth, but little Maria died shortly after her birth. Simone, who's currently dating John Hastings, isjuggling her new relationship with being the shoulder her best friend Kay needs in this her most desperate hour.TC's neice, Hailey Chambers (the daughter of his older sister Ruby Russell and her husband) has decided to attend Harmony U. and will be staying with her favorite cousin Simone and her family._**

Whitney Russell couldn't believe it. Her life had seemed so perfect just a few short months ago. She was engaged to the man she loved, Chad Harris, and had found out that they were going to have a child together as well. She had had a brief affair with Fox in LA, but her heart had lead her back to Chad, as always. That was all shattered just a few short days earlier. When, it was revealed, that the love of her life Chad Harris was in actuality the son of her beloved Aunt Liz and none other than Alistair Crane. Alistair had raped Liz years earlier (a fact that Liz kept hidden until now) and Chad was the result. Liz had gone into seclusion and put her baby up for adoption, fearing she couldn't take care of him the way he deserved to be.

Not only had she had to deal with the fact that the man she thought was the love of her life was her own cousin, but that the child she carried within her was a child of incest. The shock of all this hit Whitney hard. She suffered severe cramps and bleeding as a result, and wound up miscarrying her child. They decided to name their child, a son, Miles Davis Harris, after Chad's favorite musician growing up.

"This is unbelievable." Whit mumbled to herself as she walked down the streets of downtown Harmony's busy business district.  
"How could the man I planned to spend the rest of my life with, be my own cousin?" "My life is such a mess." she said as she wiped the tears that began to form in her eyes.

Suddenly Whit heard a strangely familiar voice from her past behind her.  
"Well look who finally decided to leave tennis practice and re-join the general population."

Whitney turned around and saw a familiar face. "Frank?" she said with a mixture of surprise and joy. Whitney had had a crush on Private Investigator Frank Lomax years earlier when he was working for Ethan Crane in Harmony, but had never told him of her feelings for fear that they weren't returned.

"Is it really you?"

"Yup, in the flesh." Frank responded as he flashed a smile.

"Oh my God." Whitney exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him in a huge embrace.

"What are you doing here? where have u been all this time?"

"Well," Frank responded,

"After finding out who Ethan's stalker was, my dept. was shuffled and I was transferred to Miami."

"Wow." Whit exclaimed. The beautiful scenery of South Beach would be a welcome change from Harmony, especially now she thought to herself.

"After a while, I decided to open up my own private practice."

"And what better place to re-locate than here."

"Well, I'm so glad you're back." Whitney said as she threw her arms around him again.

"Me too." Frank said softly as he embraced her. He then heard the sound of Whitney quietly sobbing in his ear.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing." she replied.  
"Really." he said sarcastically, as he wiped her slight tears away.

"Well, a lot has gone down since you left, Frank. A whole lot."

"I know." he responded, looking into her beautiful eyes for a brief moment.

"Let's go somewhere and get a cup of coffee and catch-up." he suggested.

"I'd really like that." she responded softly. "I know the perfect place where we can go."

"This is great, just great." Chad mumbled to himself sarcastically as he stood on the wharf looking out onto the crystal blue waters of Harmony Bay.

"Of all the people in the world, I've got to have the devil himself as a father." With that, Chad angrily knocked his coffee off the wharf's railing. At that moment, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald approached her friend.

"Hey Chad, how are you doing?" she said softly.

"As well as can be expected, I guess." he responded sarcastically.

"How would you feel if you found out that the most evil, sadistic bastard on the planet turned out to be your father?" he said as he looked out blankly into the sea.

"I would've taken a nose-dive off the wharf by now." she said chuckling. The comment caused a slight smile to come across Chad's face.

"I've always known I was adopted, and since I didn't know who my birth parents were, I decided to forge my own identity." "Now it feels like I've lost even that."

"Well I know who u are Chad."

"You're a good person, who's heart is pure."

"That's why you're surrounded by people who love you." she said softly as she put an arm around her friend.

"And in times like this, you need to be around those you love."

"Thanks T." he responded, as he hugged her.

"I know when push comes to shove, you and my boy Ethan will always have my back."

"So, why don't you spend tonight with some of your dear friends, and take your mind off of what's going on, for a little while at least." she suggested.

"Ok, you're on. But I'm not buying." he said jokingly.

"Maybe we can con Ethan into paying." she whispered, as they walked arm-in-arm down the wharf

"Is that all?" the clerk asked.

"Yea that's it." the student responded

"That'll be 250.25" she said in a monotone voice.

"Thank God for student aid." Miguel whispered to himself.

As he turned around to leave, he bumped into a beautiful young girl, spilling his books all over the floor.  
"Oh excuse me." Miguel said. With a mixture of embarrassment and interest. "I didn't see you."

"No, excuse me." the girl replied. "It was my fault."  
"Wow, you've got some book load there." "You must really love school." she remarked with a laugh

"Nah, not exactly. Just trying to get the tough stuff over with early." he responded.

"I'm kind of a new student here." the girl said innocently.  
"I really don't know the campus real well."

"I'd be happy to show u around happy little Harmony U." Miguel said with a slight smile. "I'm Miguel by the way."

"Hi, Miguel, I'm Hailey." she responded with a smile shaking his outstretched hand.

After dropping his books off in his room, the two headed out to explore the campus.

"So you're new here." Miguel asked.

"Yeah." she responded. "I've got family here, but my immediate family and I are from California."

"You've got family here? Who are they, maybe I know them" he exclaimed.

"Well my cousins Whitney and Simone Russell are here, as is my uncle TC and my aunt Eve."

"Oh really? Me and Simone grew up together." "Doctor Russell is the best doctor here; she's saved the lives of many of the people I love." "And I used to play basketball for Coach Russell in high school."

The two spent the rest of the day getting to know each other. They could spend hours just talking to each other, each feeling they had never met someone that they had more in common with.

"Hello, Simone?" Hailey said anxiously into her cell phone.  
"Yes, this is Simone. Who is this?"  
"It's me Simone, Hailey."  
"Hey cuz, I didn't know you got into town today. Why didn't u let me know?" Simone said.  
"Sorry about that. I was registering for class and I met the most unbelievable guy. We spent the whole day together." she said excitedly.  
"Who?" Simone anxiously asked.  
"Well, his name is Miguel. He said he knows you. And the two of you grew up together."  
"Miguel. Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald." Simone said ominously.  
"Oh boy cuz, we've got to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

"Don't worry Mom, I'll get it." Simone yells upstairs as she rushes to answer the front door of the Russell home.

"Hey Simone." a voice says as Simone opens the front door. Standing there is a beautiful young woman Hailey Chambers, who happens to be Simone's cousin.

"Hey cuz." Simone responds rather surprisingly. "Didn't think you'd get here so fast."

"Well u sounded so ominous on the phone. All I did was tell u about this great guy I met." Hailey said with a slight smile

"I know Hailey. Miguel."

"So what's the problem??" Hailey questioned.

"Well cuz, when it comes to Miguel, there's a lot of.....let's just call it history." Simone said.

"History??...With who??...You??"

"No not with me persay, but with Kay."

"Oh I remember her. She's your best friend right Simone?"

"Yea. We've been best friends since as long as I can remember."

"So what's the deal between Miguel and Kay??...Bad breakup??"

"Well....not quite." Simone responded with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Kay was in love with Miguel for years, but he only had eyes for Charity, Kay's cousin."

"So Kay did whatever she could to try and come between them, but to no avail."

"Yea so." Hailey said sarcastically.

"So the day Charity and Miguel were supposed to get married, right before the I do's really...Kay comes running down the isle saying she's pregnant with Miguel's baby."

"What??!!" Hailey says, shocked by the news.

"Yea...None of us could believe it. Miguel said he's never slept with Kay."

"I can't believe he said that. That's the oldest line in the book." Hailey says slightly rolling her eyes.

"But, the truth is Hailey, I believe him."

"You do??"

"Yea." Simone responds. "He says the only person he's ever slept with was Charity, and that was only once."

"And I know Miguel, he would never betray Charity like that."

"So if he only slept with Charity one time, how did Kay end up pregnant??"

"Well" Simone sighed, "We're not quite sure."

"Me and Kay's sister Jessica think that Kay used some kind of magical means to trick Miguel into bed."

"Magic??....Simone you've got to be kidding me." Hailey says while slightly chuckling.

"Nope." "I kid u not."

"So what happened after that??" Hailey asked.

"Well needless to say the wedding didn't happen."

"I'd think not."

"The strain of what happened was too much for Charity. She left town a few weeks later."

"Kay saw it as a sign that her and Miguel were meant to be. But Miguel still wanted nothing to do with her."

"Really?" Hailey asked. "What about the baby?"

"Well Kay went into labor a month or so prematurely. It was a tough delivery."

"Miguel decided to be there for the sake of the baby, so he was right holding her hand the whole time."

"They had a little girl, Maria."

"But because she was premature, there were complications. She had to be put in a incubator and taken too NICU."

"But she had problems breathing. Mom did everything she could, but she couldn't save her." Simone said somberly.

"So the baby died???" "That's so sad." Hailey said.

"Yea. It was tough. They went through hell greiving her."

"But eventually, they got through it together."

"So did they ever, u know." Hailey questioned.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll be right back." Simone said as she went to answer the door.

She was taken aback when she opened the door to find none other than Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald standing there.

"Hey Simone. You busy, I really need to talk to you."

"Well here we are." Whitney said as she and Frank walked through the crisp autumn air, leaves cruching beneath there feet.

"Somehow, I knew we'd end up here." Frank remarked.

"The good 'ol Book Cafe. This was always one of your favorite places to go."

"How'd u know??" Whitney questioned with a smile.

"You told me once while we were talking in the park. You mentioned you always go there to unwind and take your mind off things."

"I can't believe u remembered. That was a long time ago." Whitney said, touched that Frank recalled such a seemingly meaningless conversation.

"You're kind of hard to forget." Frank said softly. Whitney flashed him the most beautiful smile.

"Hey Whit." The voice of Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald said as she saw her friend enter.

"Hey Paloma. I'd like u meet a very old friend of mine. This is Frank."

"Nice to meet u Paloma." Frank said as he extended his hand to her.

"Nice to meet u too." Paloma responded. "Let me get u two a table." Paloma said as she gave Whitney a sly smile, seemingly telling Whitney to fill her in on the details later.

"Can we get a latte" Whit asked the waitress after sitting down. "And a Cappucino for me." Frank added.

"So tell me what's been going on with u." Frank asked Whitney.

"I saw a copy of a tabloid that said that Chad Harris is Alistair Crane's son???"

"Yea." Whit responded.

"I remember he was looking for his parents, I bet he never saw that one coming." Frank said slightly chuckling.

"None of us did." Whit said in a low tone.

"And his mother is my aunt Liz."

"You mean....u and him are cousins???" Frank said.

"Yea. We're family alright, more than we ever knew." Whit said with sadness in her voice.

"So tell me the whole story." Frank asked her.

Whitney began to tell Frank the entire story of her and Chad's relationship. From their beginnings as a couple, to her sisters discovery of them making love, to their trip to LA and her affair with Fox, to Chad's revelation of having been married and their run-ins with Puff Dog.

"I knew there was something about that guy I didn't trust." Frank remarked.

"There's more." Whit said.

"Shortly after we got back from LA, I found out I was pregnant."

"And due to the timelines, I knew it was Chad's baby." Whitney said.

"I knew I was carrying a child of incest, and I didn't know what to do." Whitney said as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Go on." Frank said softly as he reached across the table and held Whitney's hand in his.

"I decided to put the baby up for adoption."

"Did u tell Chad about it??" Frank asked.

"No, not then. But eventually he found out."

"It was hard enough having to have our relationship end the way it did, now we had a baby to think about."

"All the stress was building up, and one night it bubbled over. I woke up in the middle of the night with severe cramps. I thought it was nothing, but then I started bleeding. Luckily I was at Theresa's so she heard me and rushed me to the hospital. The doctors were tending to me. My mom came and the neo-natal specialist were called in too. After a few minutes my mom told me I had suffered a miscarriage."

"Wow Whit. I never knew. I'm so sorry."

"I know my baby was a product of incest, and I wanted to give him a better life. I never thought of him not being here to experience it at all." Whitney said as she struggled to talk through her tears.

Frank went over to her and and she fell into his arms in a sad embrace.

"He's gone." Whit said as she cried on Frank's shoulder.  
~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~


	3. Chapter 3

"Well it's about time." Theresa said annoyingly as the waitress approached her and Chad's table.

"Are we just about ready to order here?" The waitress asked.

"We've been ready for 20 minutes!" Theresa snapped back.

"Excuse her." Chad told the waitress.

"I'll have the Lobster Bisque."

"And I'll have the pasta primavera. Hopefully I won't be collecting Social Security by the time it gets here." Theresa said.

"And can I get a bottle of your best champagne too." she added.

"It would be my pleasure ma'am." the waitress said sarcastically before leaving.

"Theresa, u didn't have to chew her out like that." Chad told her.

"Please Chad. The Seascape is supposed to pride itself on great service. Well it's certainly lackluster tonight. Sometimes u need to light a fire under people to get them going."

"So u work a couple months at Crane, now all of a sudden your a master at managing people." Chad said with a chuckle.

"Well you know, u hang around the right people u learn a few things." Theresa said with a sly smile.

"You know, sometimes I think you really are a Crane." Chad said as both chuckled.

A waiter then arrived with a bottle of Don Perignon champagne and filled the two glasses.

"I hope ur not planning on getting me drunk and taking advantage of me." Chad said with a slight smile.

"Oh please Chad. If I were taking advantage of u, u wouldn't realize it before it was too late."

"Oh really."

"Nope. My charms would've simply been too much for u by then." Theresa joked.

"Well then I'm gonna sip this champagne very slowly then." Chad said as both started laughing.

"So what do u wanna toast to." Chad asked.

"Hmmm....How about to the future. May it be as bright and fortunate to us as the past has been." Theresa said lifting her glass.

"I like that. To the future then. To new chances." Chad said as the two clinked the glasses together.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

"Come on in Miguel." Simone said cautiously.

"Thanks."

"Hey Hailey." Miguel said surprisingly as he walked into the living room.

"Hey Miguel." Hailey said, still trying to process all that her cousin had just informed her about him.

"You know what, I'm thristy. I'm gonna go in the kitchen and see what I can whip up. Hailey, Miguel u want anything?"

"Yea. Thanks Simone." Miguel responded. Simone quickly left the room leaving Hailey and Miguel to talk alone.

"What's wrong? Did I walk in on something I shouldn't have?" Miguel asked. Seeing the somewhat lost look on Hailey's face.

"No no, Miguel. That's not it."

"Simone was just telling me about ur history with Charity and Kay." Hailey replied.

"Oh." Miguel said with a slight sigh.

"She told me about Maria too."

"Yea, I figured." Miguel said with slight sadness.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell u about her before. I just don't like to really bring her up much, I guess."

"It's totally understandable. I'm just sorry u had to go through that." Hailey said as she sat beside Miguel on the couch and put his hand in hers.

"She was so beautiful." Miguel said as he stared off into space, seemingly going back in time.

"And even though I only got to hold her for a few moments, I'll never forget her face. She changed my life in ways I could've never imagined."

"I know she did." Hailey said softly.

Miguel then snapped himself out of his mini-trance.

"Thanks." he said as their eyes met.

Just as they leaned in for a kiss, Simone came back into the living room, tray full of drinks in hand.

"Well here's the best darn pitcher of lemonade I've ever made, if I may say so myself--"

"Oops, am I interrupting something?" Simone said slyly as Miguel and Hailey suddenly stopped what they were doing.

"Cause I could go back in the kitchen and act like I forgot something." she said with a slight smile.

"No u weren't." Miguel said with a slight smile.

"Hailey and I were just....getting to know each other better."

"I bet." Simone said, chuckling sarcastically.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

"Hello?" Frank responded as he picked up his cellphone, unsure of the number that appeared on the phone's caller ID.

"Hey Frank, it's Whitney." the voice on the other end said softly.

"Hey Whit." Frank responded happily.

"I just wanted to tell u thanks for listening to me today. I know I was a basketcase at the cafe."

"You don't have to thank me, it was my honor. I'm here whenever u need me."

"Thanks." Whit said, a smile coming across her face.

"A basketcase is someone who gets so overcome by their own grief and fear, that they blurt out things that shouldn't be said. You aren't even remotely a basketcase." Frank said in a comforting tone.

"Thanks Frank. That's the sweetest thing anyone's said to me in a LONG TIME. Your making me blush."

"I just wish I was there to see it." Frank said.

"If ur not doing anything tomorrow, there's somewhere I'd like to bring you." Whitney asked.

"Yea, sure." Frank said, trying to hide the growing excitement in his voice. "Where are we going?"

"I'll let u know when we get there." Whitney said, an air of mystery in her voice.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~


	4. Chapter 4

"So this is it, huh." Frank asked Whitney.

"Yea. This is it. The Blue Note." Whitney responded, as she and Frank approached the entrance of the club.

"I read about a Blue Note club up in Boston before. I didn't know they had one in Harmony." Frank said.

"Yea I know. Julian Crane had it built a couple years ago. At the time I didn't know why."

"He used to go to the Blue Note in Boston all the time years ago. It's where he first met my mother."

"Oh really." Frank responded surprisingly. "Julian Crane--a jazz fanatic. Who ever would've guessed."

"May I?" Frank asked, trying to sound as chivilrous as possible as he opened the door for Whitney.

"Of course. Thank you." Whitney responded softly as she took Frank's arm and they walked into the club together.

The Blue Note was especially busy this night. Patrons were enjoying themselves in the club's relaxed atmosphere. Some danced to the beautiful voice of the singer on stage. Others sat at their tables conversating amongst themselves.

"Wow. This is some set-up." Frank remarked

"Hey, Whitney." A voice called.

"Hey Kyle." Whitney said, leaving Frank's side for a moment to give her friend and the club's best host a quick hug.

"How have u been?" Kyle asked. "It's been a while since I've seen you around here."

"I've been doing better." Whitney said. " I just had to clear my head for a while, and recharge."

"Well I'm glad to see you back. This place just hasn't been the same without that beautiful smile of yours around." Kyle said graciously.

"Oh stop it Kyle." Whitney said blushingly.

"Kyle, I'd like u to meet a very dear friend of mine." Whitney said as she motioned to Frank. "This is Frank Lomax."

"Nice to meet you." Frank said as he extended his hand to the host.

"You too." Kyle answered.

"Do you want table 2?" He asked Whitney.

"Thanks Kyle. I haven't been in here in ages, and you still remember my favorite table." Whitney said.

"Of course." Kyle responded knowingly.

"Oh wait. There's something I have to do. Can you get the drinks honey." Whitney said to Frank.

"No problem." Frank answered as Whitney disappeared into another part of the club. "A bottle of your best white wine." Frank told the bartender as Kyle showed him to he and Whitney's table.

Just then, the singer on stage finished her set and Kyle dashed on stage.

"I hope everyone is enjoying their evening. Coming to the stage is an old favorite at the Blue Note. Making her return to our stage after an all-to-long hiatus--the beautiful voice of Ms. Whitney Russell."

"What???" Frank said surprisingly, sitting up in his seat with great interest.

Just then Whitney emerged on stage and took the microphone. "This song is for a very special person out there. I have a feeling they know who they are." She began singing "Something about him moves me". The song she had sung when she first took the Blue Note's stage nervously, years before.

As Whitney sang, Frank sat back in his chair, amazed at what he was hearing. He had never heard Whitney sing before, and became more and more mesmerized with her as the song continued to it's conclusion.

The audience responded with great applause to Whitney as she bowed and left the stage.

"So, what did you think?" Whitney asked Frank as she sat down at their table.

"Wow, I'm um--speechless. That was incredible." Frank said. "I had no idea u were that gifted."

"Oh Frank stop it. I wasn't that good. I was kinda rusty." Whitney responded.

"If that's rusty, I'd be scared to see what you're like when your in your prime." Frank said with a slight chuckle. "I felt like I was had entered the gates of heaven, and was listening to one of God's angels."

"Oh Frank, stop it. You're making me blush." she said as she looked down at the table in slight embarassment.

"I'm serious." Frank said as he took his hand in hers and lifted her chin up gently to look at her eye to eye.

"In that moment, I realized that you captured a piece of my soul Whitney. You did a long time ago." Frank said as they shared a romantic kiss.

~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

"Wow. I didn't know this place could be this beautiful at night." Hailey said, as she was sitting between the legs of Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald in the sands of Dune Point on Harmony beach.

"Yea it is. I used to come out here to clear my head sometimes." he said.

"Look there." Hailey said as she pointed upwards. "I don't remember the last time I saw so many stars in the sky." she said in amazement.

"Yea." Miguel responded. "I remember when I came out here after Maria died....I would look up at the stars and be in amazement at God's creation. And I would think that Maria's up there now, in the heavens. And that she's looking down on me and giving me her protection and love. And every time I would see a star, I would think of her."

"That's so beautiful Miguel." Hailey said as waves gently crashed against the shore. "She's looking down on you, and I know you're making her so proud." she said as she looked over her shoulder and Miguel's eyes met hers and they passionately kissed.

Soon they were wrapped in each other's arms as they passionately embraced under the night sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What??!!!" Chad said loudly into the receiver of his phone at the recording studio.

"Your not serious. I don't know who u think u are, but this kinda stuff isn't funny." he said in a harsh tone.

"Oh Mr. Harris, we're deadly serious." The voice on the other end said.

"We're going to need to view a sample from you to verify it of course." the voice said.

"Well your not getting anything from me--until I talk to my attorneys. For all I know this could be yet another attempt to milk money from the Cranes." Chad said in a hostile tone.

Just then Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald walked up to the studio door, which was slightly open. She peered in and saw that Chad was on the phone, and was taken aback by the increasing nastiness in his voice.

"I'm taking your number down." Chad said as he scribbled the number on some paper he found on his desk.

"And what's your name again?" he asked. "Thomas Benson, good. And let me tell you something Mr. Benson, if this is a hoax, your going to regret the day u ever learned how to use a telephone, much less when you decided to pick it up and call me." Chad said as he angrily slammed the receiver down on the phone's base.

"Wow, do I even wanna know what that was about?" Theresa asked as she walked into the studio.

"Oh hey Theresa." Chad said as he turned around.

"And you say that I'm sounding more and more like a Crane." Theresa said jokingly. "That sounded like vintage Julian just now."

"Yea sorry about that. The lengths some people will go to to try and get money from the well-off." Chad said sarcastically.

"Well what did whoever you were on the phone with want?" she asked.

"That was a hospital in LA." Chad said.

"A hospital??? What did they want with you?" Theresa said surprisingly.

"My ex-wife's just full of surprises." Chad said with sarcasm.

"Ex-wife???...U mean Latoya?"

"The one and only. She's been in an accident. A bad one."

"Oh my God. Is she you know --, I mean is she gonna be ok." Theresa asked.

"She's in a coma. The doctors don't know the long-term prognosis yet. They said she could wake up in a matter of hours, or in a matter of months. Or signifcantly longer."

"Oh wow. I'm so sorry Chad." Theresa said.

"Oh don't be. Not yet anway."

"Apparently she was keeping more to herself than even I knew." Chad said.

"What do u mean Chad." Theresa said ominously.

"Not only were we still legally married all those years after I left. Now it also seems that she was pregnant when we broke up. And she never told me."

"What????" Theresa said in shock.

"Yup. Apparently we have a son together." Chad said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Wait a minute." Theresa said, still trying to process the information. "Are u serious???"

"And since Latoya is out of comission, they've called me to take care of him. Since she put me down as the next of kin."

"I can't believe this." Theresa responded.

"Neither can I." Chad said, sounding like someone had just rabbit-punched him in the gut.

"I don't trust it either. That's why I insisted on having a DNA test run. Latoya is let's just say less-than-trusworthy." Chad said with cynicism in his voice.

"I wouldn't put it past her to pull a stunt like this just to get some of the Crane bankroll."

"Yea it sounds like that could be a good possibility." Theresa said.

"What if it's true though Chad. What are u gonna do then???" she asked, sitting on the couch beside him.

"I don't know Theresa. I just don't know." Chad said, sounding rather distant.

"Well whatever happens, you've got me on your side." Theresa said in her best comforting tone.

"Thanks T." Chad said as the two hugged.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. Chapter 5

_Note: Hailey Chambers is TC's niece, the daughter of his sister Ruby Russell and her husband, financier Michael Chambers  
_

"Well, Well. I hope we're not interrupting anything." A voice called out to Whitney Russell as she and Frank suddenly pulled away from their romantic kiss.

"Oh Simone. Hey. Didn't even see u there." Whitney said with slight embarassment in her voice.

There stood her younger sister Simone Russell, dressed beautifully and accompanied by her current suitor, John Hastings.

"I'm sure u didn't." Simone responded with a slight laugh.

"Simone? I hardly recognized you. Wow you've really grown up." Frank said with surprise.

"I'm sorry do I know u?" Simone questioned.

"Simone this is Frank. Frank Lomax. Remember he was trailing Ethan's stalker years ago." Whitney reminded her.

"Oh yeah. How have u been Frank. It's been--a long time."

"I've been doing fine. I recently opened my own P.I. business and relocated to Harmony." Frank answered.

"Well I guess u found a mighty friendly tour guide to show u around." Simone said jokingly of her sister.

"Yeah I ran into Whitney the other day when I officially came back. We've been hanging out ever since."

"Oh really." Simone said. "And yet she's failed to mention one WORD of it to me." she said nudging Whitney with her elbow.

"Well um...." Whitney said flustered.

"Frank, let me introduce you to someone very special to me." Simone said. "This is boyfriend. John Hastings."

Frank sat in stunned silence for a brief moment at the name that came from Simone's mouth.

Whitney looked at him, slightly puzzled.

"Nice to meet you Frank." John said as he extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you to." Frank said as he snapped himself out of his mini-trance.

"Well Whit, we're gonna go get ourselves a table. You two have a nice night. _And I will talk to you later_." She said looking at Whitney like she expected to be filled in on the details later.

"Ok Simone." Whitney said. She and Frank than sat back down to enjoy the rest of their evening.

Frank sat there with a look of obvious concentration on his face.

"Ok Frank, what is it." Whitney questioned.

"What's what?" Frank responded.

"Don't give me that. You looked like you saw a ghost when Simone introduced you to John."

"Well Whit, there's a few reasons I'm in town. One is to open up my own agency, one was to see you, and one was to visit a prospective client."

"A client?" Whitney said.

"Yes. Julian Crane." Frank said.

"What does Julian Crane want from you?" Whitney wondered.

"He remembered me from my work with Ethan years ago. And he recruited me to help find his son."

"His son??" Whitney said with confusion. "You don't mean--"

"Yes Whitney. His son with Eve. He wants me to find your brother." Frank said with almost no emotion in his voice.

Whitney sat there in semi-stunned silence.

"So what does John Hastings have to do with it?" she said as she finally opened her mouth to speak again.

Frank took a semi-deep breath. "I think his father may have been the man responsible for making your brother disappear all those years ago."

~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow." Miguel and Hailey both said simultaneously, causing laughter from them both.

"This night seems almost too perfect." Miguel said as he gazed up into the night sky at Dune Point on Harmony Beach.

"I feel so safe with you, in your arms." Hailey said as she snuggled closer to Miguel as he wrapped his arms closer around her.

"Thank you." Miguel said.

"What for?" Hailey asked.

"I feel protected with you too. Like I'm invincible. Like nothing in the world can touch me right now." Miguel said.

"Really?" Hailey said with a mixture of excitement and flattery in her voice.

"Mmhmm. My life has been like a dark cave for it seems like forever now. But since I met you it's like someone's shined a light at the end of the tunnel. I can finally see my way out of the darkness."

The two then kissed under the moonlight.

"When I came to Harmony, I expected to meet up with my family, make some friends, maybe hang out. I never expected to find---" Hailey paused.

"Find what?" Miguel asked.

"You." Hailey responded.

The two then wrapped themselves in each other's arms and enjoyed the rest of the night under a star-filled night sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, what happened?" Theresa asked with baited breath as Chad hung up the phone with the hospital in LA.

"It's positive. It's a match." he said sullenly.

"You mean--"

"Yup. It looks like I'm a father. I have a son." Chad said sounding like someone had just sucker-punched him.

"What's his name?" Theresa questioned.

"His name is Cameron. He sounds like a great kid."

"Well with your DNA, I'm sure he is." Theresa said comfortingly, putting a hand on Chad's leg.

"Well I'm not too sure about that. Are u forgetting that I have Crane DNA running through my veins. Not just any Crane, Alistair Crane. The living incarnate of the devil himself." Chad said.

"Yeah but you're not like him at all Chad. I mean you've always had his blood running through you, and it hasn't made you into a bad person yet, why should it now." she reminded him.

"You really believe that." Chad questioned her.

"Yea, I do." Theresa said.

"You're wonderful person, you always have been."

"Remember our toast tonite....May the future be as bright and fortunate to us--"

"As the past has been." she and Chad said simultaneously.

"Thanks T. You always seem to know what to say." Chad said as he moved closer to her.

"Well you always make it easy for me to feel like I can conquer anything." she said as she gazed into his eyes.

"Funny." he said. "I always thought of you as my inspiration."

Just then, the two friends pulled into each other for an unexpected, yet romantic kiss.


End file.
